Oh no, I Already Know
by EXPLODINGWEWILLGO
Summary: Alex has the habit of knowing everything everyone doesn't want him to know. He knew when his sister was cheating on her currents, he knew Mark knew she was cheating before he mentioned it, he knew when his sister was in love. AU cos Angel lives!
1. Chapter 1

**AN: My first try at a RENT fanfic! I own nothing but Alex, Kurt, Sam, and gadget...and any names I make up along the way! And the title Isfelvic.**

**Isfelvic is a word _I_ made up! And only _I_ know it's meaning! **

**This is not a one-shot!**

* * *

><p>Knowing things was a good business.<p>

Knowing all the gossipers and the gossiper's connections was even better business.

Alex Johnson knew several things about everyone in Alphabet City. You may think it's impossible but not for someone who has a steal trap of a memory. He remembered everything he ever heard. He had power of everyone he had dirt on…and people hated that about him. But they loved him unconditionally for the fact that he didn't believe in blackmail.

He did; however, love being the warm cell of life all the gossipers crowded around. He loved having the connections he did, that way he could get his rag-tag gang of friends into a better place…someday.

Alex Johnson knew several things about several people…and he knew his sister Maureen Johnson better than anyone in the whole world. Even Kurt…his best friend since the tender age of four. Kurt was his brother from another mother.

He and Maureen used to be mistaken for each other when Alex grew his hair over his eyes and her hair was shorter once upon a story. When she had a gangly longer body like an average teenage boy. They were mistaken as twins. The only way to tell back then was to keep his hair cut shorter, because his eyes were brother blue where hers were chocolate brown (as she so lovingly called it).

When he was three and she was six…their mother died. And their father was sad…but it made Alex feel better when he took his hand and squeezed it gave his sister a hug. Then it was just the three of them…and they learned to function.

Life goes on.

When Alex was twelve and Maureen was fifteen…their father died. After two heart attacks and a stroke. The doctor had told him to lay off the red meat…their father hadn't listened.

Kurt was there for the burial. Maureen had her arm slung around his shoulders in a tight one armed hug. Now they were all they had. And she'd be more protective than she already was, than she already had been. She led the way out once the last throw of dirt was packed down.

Kurt had taken his hand and smiled at him, walking beside him out of the cemetery.

And life went on.

Maureen got two jobs, one at a diner in the mornings and a bike messenger at night. Leaving her most of middle day to sleep and go to school with Alex.

Kurt gave her some money from his saved allowance when rent was tight on their new place. She kept offering to pay him back but he refused.

"_You always help your family."_

Alex had to pull her off of him because she was squeezing him in a hug so tight he was turning blue.

A year later he and Kurt met Sam and Gadget.

Now thirteen, they met them in a back alley. Going opposite ways. Kurt accidently bumped into Gadget, sending them both to the ground. And they both apologized quickly and several times.

Then they laughed about it and introductions went around.

Sam Brett, the powder blonde with a fluffy curling Mohawk and the rest of his head shaved bald. He was fifteen. And planning to get a set of curling tribal tattoos on both sides of his head and on his arms. He smirked and Alex thought he looked like a cool guy; he had baby blue eyes that always seemed to be half closed in a sleepy/lazy way.

Gadget (no last name), wasn't good with gadgets at all. He seemed quite clueless about how to work anything besides a TV and his video games. One thing that struck Alex and Kurt was his mismatched set of eyes. Which was rarely seen. His right eye was a deep blue with the left was a soft brown. He was quiet and very kind.

A year later when Alex was fourteen and Maureen was seventeen. She'd finally grown into her figure a year earlier. It was shocking to Alex. Like he'd blinked once and suddenly she went from looking just like him to having an hourglass figure with a jutting female chest. And she became a flirt.

And then suddenly Alex shot up to be Maureen's height and none of his old clothes fit. He remembered once when Kurt was spending the night, he pulled on a favorite night shirt of his… it was too tight around his arms and rested a good two inches above his waist. Kurt had laughed till he was crying. Red/bronze hair falling out of its carefully combed place as he leaned forward.

"_You look like a midget on steroids!"_

He'd hit puberty quickly and unexpected. His sister had to take him on an emergency shopping trip to buy things twice his size.

"_It is surprising though isn't it?" _She spoke quietly as she pulled out a nice blue shirt with a large 'Rock on' hand on the front in black. He looked at her funny. She smiled over at him, handing him the shirt to put in the basket.

"_One day everything seems five times to bit and then the next it's like it's all two times to small_." She explained.

He nodded_. "I thought it was something that happened gradually."_

"_It does. But it happens faster than most think."_ She pulled out a pair of shorts.

He'd just nodded.

Kurt, Sam, Gadget, and himself sat around on the floor of the apartment weeks later. He and Kurt had been best friends with the blonde and brunette about two weeks after meeting the guys. Sam now had his tattoos.

Kurt and Alex were fifteen soon to be sixteen and Sam was seventeen and Gadget was fourteen. Gadget had grown into a sweet looking teen with an innocent smile and an even more innocent personality to follow. Making the girls swoon and leaving him clueless.

Sam would always laugh when girls would almost literally throw themselves at him and Gadget would be confused as all hell.

Kurt had come out of the closet recently. Some kids in school had tried to bully him but when Alex made a show of punching a tooth out of the first guy that tried…nobody did it again. Of course Alex had known since they were six.

Sam and Gadget had no problem with it. Sam was learning to play the guitar. Kept talking about starting a band.

"So your sister is dating all these guys?" The blonde asked to clarify as he tossed down a card for their game.

Alex shrugged. "I dunno man…she's doing a lot of things." It was a lie. His sister was supposed to be dating this guy named Nick, an actually pretty decent guy with big dreams and a good job. But she was also sightseeing a guy named Doug, another called Steve, and even a pretty strawberry blonde named Alice.

So he lied…as bad as he knew what his sister was doing was…he didn't want her to be seen in a bad light. She was his sister, she had her faults but also some soul redeeming features. Like fighting to the death for things she actually did believe in. Polygamy clearly not being one of them. But he told himself in time she'd get this phase out of her system and find just that one person. He had total faith in that.

But for now he had to see the face of one of her boyfriends and her girlfriend almost every day of the week. And what made him laugh was the fact that none of them knew about the others. He'd laughed out loud one when Steve showed up at the door not three hours after her date with Doug.

Maureen stared at him with an odd expression. He snickered and shook his head. Simply stating, "I hope it happens one of these days." She paled and looked slightly hurt. Doug simply looked on in confusion. But Maureen knew what he meant.

Alex honestly hoped they all found out. In his mind nobody deserved to be strung along that way.

It had reached a boiling point two weeks after Sam asked about her dating 'issues'. They were starting to show up with only an hour of another leaving. Alex was getting upset. And so was Nick, who was starting to suspect something.

He was waiting for Maureen with Alex in the living room. Talking about how much he cared about her…Alex felt guilty. Nick wanted what he thought he had to last with his sister.

"Nick," he cut the older teen off. "She's cheating on you. Two other dudes and a chick. The girl was here just an hour ago." He glanced at the sandy blonde.

He blinked, smirked with a hurt look in his eyes, and looked up at Alex. "You being honest with me?"

"You're cool. What would I get from telling you a lie about this?"

"I figured…," he stood. "Tell your sister we'd done." He stalked to the door. "It was cool getting to know you little dude, hope I see you around." He smiled, still looking hurt. He left.

When his sister came out and asked where he'd gone. Alex just shrugged. She'd huffed and left, he assumed to find the older teen.

The others had found out on their own. Doug had seen her in a club with Alice and Steve had seen her walking away with an angry Doug still shouting after her.

When she came home shouting that he'd jinxed her, he just raised a brow and shrugged. "Nobody told you to juggle three dudes and a chick with your bad time management skills." It was true, Maureen had the nasty habit of often biting off much more than she could chew.

When he was eighteen and she was twenty-one she started dating a film-maker that was Jewish and had never really even made a whole film. A geeky, nerdy blonde with glasses named Mark. He was nice but he had habits that annoyed even Alex.

And by this point Sam's idea had taken wing and the four were a band getting decent gigs here and there. Kurt took the songs they had for higher notes. Sam took low notes and lead guitar, Kurt had the bass, Gadget had drums. Alex often got the lead…but he was practiced in an extra hand. He and Gadget were usually put together for duets.

Their band name:

Isfelvic

For Maureen and Marks first official date…she'd taken him to their third gig of that month. She hadn't started cheating on him yet so Alex took that as a good thing. She smiled and giggled at his jokes and grinned when he was around…he figured maybe this guy was it.

Sam took front stage, his traditional fluffy blonde hawk combed strategically (by Kurt of course) more to the left so he could see clearer. His bright black tribal tattoos standing out brighter against his naturally tanned skin under the stage lights. "This one is for the fans that stuck with us this long." He grinned as cheers erupted.

Kurt held an acoustic guitar as the four band members took seats on their respective tools. He started the song.

"_**Dear you, and you, and you,  
>I want to tell you.<br>Something I just couldn't say  
>without a good melody.<br>I promise to tell the truth and the whole truth."**_

Kurt sang as he strummed an easy tune on his guitar. Sam took over, easily harmonizing his voice to match the slow, steady tone the red head had set for him to follow.

"_**But you'll probably be modest,  
>when I'm just being honest when I<br>Say yeah…that you are the only ones for me."**_

Alex next.

"_**Hope you noticed that, that was plural.  
>And that this song's not about a girl,<br>but I guess it could be,**_

He smiled and shrugged, gaining a rippling laugh from the crowd.

"_**If you want it to be.  
>This song is dedicated to you,<br>and this song was created for you.  
>It's not for anyone else it's all for you.<br>So believe me when I say yeah…  
>you are the only ones for me."<strong>_

Gadget,

"_**And I've got one last thing to say.  
>And it's as easy as your ABCs, or 1,2,3s, or losing your keys,<br>it goes with please.  
>I've got one last thing to say.<br>And it's as easy as your ABCs, or 1,2,3s, or losing your keys,  
>it goes with please."<strong>_

And then they sang it together.

"_**I want to say thank you, and that I love you.  
>And I want to make you as happy as you've<br>made me.  
>I want to say thank you…and that I love you,<br>and that I want to make you as happy as you've  
>made me."<strong>_

Kurt,

"_**So believe me when I say yeah…  
>that you are the only ones for me."<strong>_

Alex and Gadget made hand motions for the crowd to follow along and Sam joined in to clap. The crowd copied them.

"_**La-la-la-la-la…la-la-la-la,  
>la-la-la-la-la…la-la-la-la…<br>la-la-la-la-laaaa~"**_

They let the last note carry as Kurt played the last string and the crowd cheered and clapped as the band stood and took their bow.

Maureen had loved the show and so had Mark. But there was just something about the guy that irked him. And the fact that he of all people couldn't place it…annoyed him and made him angry. He started to dislike Mark…and the fact that he didn't know why…made him like Mark even less.

Mark was the typically sweet guy all the girls dream of. Always on the look-out in a conversation to say just the right things and overly sorry if he sounded offensive. It was annoying…and eventually Maureen thought so too.

A few months into their relationship and Alex knew she was cheating. And apparently so did Mark, he'd made a comment about it and when he looked over to the kitchen to see a very shocked Alex he just smiled sadly and nodded.

It clicked suddenly…why Alex didn't like Mark.

He was in love with Maureen…his big sister…his only blood relative he cared to think he knew. Not only were his natural instincts telling him in his 'brotherly' mind that this guy wasn't good enough (even though he was a very good guy), but the fact that he was being strung along, knew it, and was still in love and making no attempts to leave.

Helplessness.

Allowed helplessness.

It made Alex want to vomit. Right on that precious little camera Mark always carried around.

He wanted his sister to meet someone she could be with and have that person take care of her…not need to be taken care of like this guy did.

Someone flexible…leading when needed and following when abided. Mark was a sheep…Alex was not…Kurt was not…Sam was not…Gadget was not…and if they were the kings of nonconforming…Maureen was the Grand Empress.

But then…one night after an actual date with Mark…he has no idea when the date started or ended…but she's in by eleven. It's Friday…so Alex is up late watching adult cartoons (they only cuss and swear with mild adult situations). He watches with amusement as his big sister all but floats into the apartment and glides across the floor with a dreamy smile on her red stained lips.

"What drug is in your coffee?" He asks chuckling at her out of the odds behavior. And he knows without being told that whatever has made her this happy…wasn't Mark. He never had when they started dating and he was sure it wouldn't happen while she was cheating on him on the side.

She all but hops over to him and lands on the couch, facing him with a wide grin. "Guess what…,"

"You broke up with Mark?" It was the only thing he could guess at.

No really, it was.

"No, smart mouth, but I'm planning on it."

"When? When he asks you to marry him?" Alex scoffs and goes back to watching TV, blue eyes flickering with the images flashing by on the glass.

"He'd never do that."

"Why, cause he knows your cheating? Yeah he'd still ask you if you don't break up with him you know."

"How do you know that?"

"Kurt actually said that. Sam and Gadget agreed." He glances over. "It does sound like something he may pull though; even you have to admit that."

She chews her lip nervously.

Alex laughs and pats her knee in that older brother way she's been doing in that big sister way when he was down in the slums on his bad days.

"Mo-Mo…someday you're gunna meet somebody that you'll never think twice to cheat on. And it may almost happen, but it'll only go as far as a kiss before you pull away and feel disgusted with yourself. And when you ask yourself why your heart is going to tell you it's because you're in love. And you'll realize you've known that all along. Because you'll act crazier than you already and strive more for what they can give you and you'll fight and you'll make up…and you'll realize that that person is the only one you've had eyes for since you met them…it's just taken you longer to realize."

She blinks back tears at his essay of words.

He just smiles. "And I hope it happens soon. You're worth more than a cheater with a boyfriend who knows you cheat and is to in love and to scared of being lonely to say anything about it. Your better than being a cheater…or a major flirt…and someday you'll realize that too."

She gives him a kiss on his temple and goes to sleep surprisingly quiet.

And it's only a month or two later that she finally dumps Mark, and he and his friends are happy for her. He dumps her for a lawyer…one of a darker skin tone and the same gender. A lawyer named Joanne.

And Alex sees her for what he realizes is the second time. She came over once as a friend at the time and only stayed for a few minutes, maybe five.

Alex realizes he should have known it was hers, and he thinks maybe he did. Because when she looked at his sister with an expression he didn't know he saw how she lit up…how she glowed when she was being watched by her. He'd felt something start to click in that moment, but now it's finally settled as he meets her for the second time.

This woman was the reason his sister had seemed to float. And that look she gave Maureen…the one that made her smile and glow with life (even more than she had)…was a look telling Maureen she was more important to Joanne than the sun.

He and Kurt talk about it later, while they're out. And Kurt gets it. And they call Sam and Gadget…and they get it. They all get it.

Maureen always wants to be the center of attention, the warm cell of life people crowd around, like the gossipers had done with Alex. But it was different…she wanted just one person to make her feel important…to tell her that she was every day she woke up.

Nobody but Joanne ever did.

So it automatically simply clicked.

Alex was nineteen and starting in the slummy community college with Sam and Gadget, Kurt was taking classes but was also awaiting answers from better colleges in better states for next semester.

Sam was twenty-one and didn't look a day older than when he was seventeen. He grew no facial hair. And neither did Gadget. Now twenty.

Maureen was now twenty-two and Joanne was three months older.

Mark had been dumped quite publicly.

The four of them knew that because Collins had called, checking in on him (they'd stayed close even after he and his sister moved out), and that's when it happened. They'd snickered as the 'film-maker' was rudely dumped.

For her first date with Joanne she took her to a showing of Isfelvic. He met Joanne for the third time with longer conversations before the show. He smiled, watching from his peripheral vision as Maureen just stared at Joanne for a long period of time before glancing at him then back to her. She was happy they were getting along.

It was a rule for Maureen…if Alex didn't like her boyfriends of girlfriends…she ditched them. Because nobody knew more about anyone in this city than Alex Johnson. And he'd heard about Joanne Jefferson, one of the only honest lawyers that were actually _good_ in New York City.

He, Sam, and Gadget remembered that day as finding out that Kurt and Joanne were related.

Kurt had walked over while he and she were talking to ask about the set-list.

Joanne was surprised to see him there. Kurt grinned. "Hey cousin." He greeted.

When he got funny looked from the Johnson siblings he laughed. "You honestly didn't know?"

They shook their heads.

"I'm surprised at you Alex. I thought you knew everything." Kurt laughed. Taking Joanne's hand in his, the one wrapped in his rainbow wristband and pulled her along.

Alex and Maureen blinked and compared their looks.

Their hair was an almost similar color, Kurt's just wavy and a brighter shade. And the underline tan Alex had only just noticed. They had the same eye shape and color. And the same ears Alex side-noted.

They all later found out that Kurt was Joanne's third cousin, his mother had died when he was three…leaving him with just his over caring dad.

Kurt was happy to know his cousin (who they found out was like a sister to him his whole life) liked their music. And specifically the song he'd gotten to sing that night.

"_**When I breezed in here  
>I could see the mist on your breath<br>Even though the thermals rise from the  
>Skin of a few hundred lovers on a summer night<br>I slide over  
>Shield my eyes from the scorching rays of the club light<br>Everybody's burning up but there's a  
>Cool air about your body and your attitude<strong>_

We are just figures in the fire, the fire  
>Mercury is creeping higher and higher, and I feel<br>That one look from your  
>Icy blue eyes, Icy blue eyes<br>You'll see you want me too

Ooh, I'm burning up now  
>And I'm exceeding a thousand degrees<br>So, as you move closer  
>I can feel you melt into me<p>

_**[ Lyrics from: .com/lyrics/d/dreamer/worlds_ ]**__**  
>Your pale white face shines<br>As you light up a cigarette  
>You betray the faintest smile<br>And I shiver  
>It's a feeling long ago alien<br>Our lips meet  
>I supernova<br>Our worlds collide to make paradise  
>I can feel me spread through you<br>And I know you can feel it spreading through my body too**_

We are just figures in the fire, the fire  
>Mercury is creeping higher and higher, and I feel<br>That one look from your  
>Icy blue eyes, Icy blue eyes<br>You'll see you need me too

Ooh, I'm burning up now  
>And I'm exceeding a thousand degrees<br>So, as you move closer  
>I can feel you melt into me<br>Hey, there's nothing wrong now  
>We like a bit of danger in the games we play<br>This equilibrium  
>Does it suit you, 'cos it suits me<p>

Ooh, I'm burning up now  
>And I'm exceeding a thousand degrees<br>So, as you move closer  
>I can feel you melt into me<br>Hey, there's nothing wrong now  
>We like a bit of danger in the games we play<br>This equilibrium  
>Does it suit you, 'cos it suits me"<p>

The crowd had gone into an uproar at the end of his song. And recently they'd been getting offers for a record label. They left it to Sam and Gadget to choose one as they knew the most about music.

It was months later, everyone is getting along great. Maureen moved in with Joanne and she forcibly pulled Alex along. He didn't want to be a burden and Kurt had offered him the spare room he had at his dad's house, but Maureen refused it. Saying he'd already done more than enough.

Alex was starting to notice his sister slipping back into her old ways; Joanne was the first any-friend he'd seen Maureen not cheat on. He confronted her once about it and only once, Joanne was still at work and Maureen came through the door at five.

"How's your cheating going?" He asked smartly from his perch on the couch. Maureen was surprised at first then shot him a glare, tugging off her fashionably ripped up jean jacket. "Shut up, we both know I'm not cheating on her."

"Does that scare you?" He asked, honestly curious.

She blinked at him.

"The fact that you're not cheating." He explained.

She huffed, walking over to sit beside him. "A little bit, honestly."

"It scares you because you don't want to."

She nods.

"You're in love."

She looks up at him, surprised, honestly.

He smiled happily. "Sis…look at where we are. This is the first time you've ever moved in with anyone of your currents. First time you've never cheated, first time you've slowed your flirting ways. But now you're going back to that flirting thing…that bugs her yunno…"

"I know."

"You're in love."

"…"

"Admit it. You love Joanne. And you're not flirting because you're just scared you're doing it because you want more of her attention than she already gives you. You want her to look at you and only you so you make her jealous to get it."

Maureen said nothing, just hung her head. Love was daunting.

"It feels like we've had this conversation…only you were with Mark when it happened. Just remember what I said. Don't hurt Joanne…you deserve each other…you make each other happy. Don't screw it up Mo-Mo." He left for band practice.

Oh yes…Alex Johnson knew everything about everyone in Alphabet City. And he knew his sister better than any of them.

Because knowing things was a good business. Even when it just started out as your sister you knew the most about.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Second chapter!**

**My first try at a RENT fanfic! I own nothing but Alex, Kurt, Sam, and gadget...and any names I make up along the way! And the title Isfelvic.**

**Isfelvic is a word _I_ made up! And only _I_ know it's meaning! **

**This is not a one-shot!**

* * *

><p>Alex watched from his armchair as his sister spoke in that 'sweet as candy' voice. The one that always got her what she wanted. Not with Alex of course. He was immune to all and any of her tricks.<p>

When she hung up he huffed, breathing out, his blue/white/red plaid shirt seemingly expanding over his slowly deflating chest. Then he sucked the air back in, puffing out the shirt and his chest to a comfortable level. She glanced at him, he frowned. "You should stop that." He advised.

"Stop what?" She played innocent but they both knew what he meant.

"You know he still has feelings for you…you're using that to get what you need done. Calling him baby and using that sweet voice." Alex frowned deeper. "He's a glutton for punishment, but you have your sin too."

"What's that? Being with a woman?"

He scowled. "Don't play that with me, you know that's not what I mean." He had no problem with same gender couples, obviously. He was 100% straight but what people chose to do with their lives was their business, and if two women or two men had enough pride to come out and say they loved each other then he was more than happy to cheer them on.

She frowned. "I know."

There was a pregnant pause.

"He calls it the Tango Maureen yunno." He finally settles on something to say.

"What?"

"This game you play. And despite what you think he knows what you're doing…he knows the turns and twists just as well as I do."

Maureen simply stared.

"Joanne thinks you're playing games with her too. I'm sure he'll try and convince her you've taken her into the tango." He smirks when she shows a twinge of hurt in her eyes. "But I know you're not. You may want it to seem that way…but I know you're the only partner of the dance you're taking her on."

She smiles.

"You're subtle. I'll give you that much. But it's really for the best that you quit stringing him along."

She nods slowly, and they both know it'll take time…but she'll slowly quit her ways…some of them. "Can you go and help?"

He raises a brow. "Want me to be your spy?" He lets his head fall back, knowing she's nodding. Sure she trusted Jo whole-heartedly. But not Mark…not anymore.

Alex stands. "Only cause I love ya." He smirks and heads for the door, brown army boots clunking dully on the fancy hardwood polished floor.

Joanne is happy to see him when he gets there. But Alex is like Gadget. Sure he knows more but he can't help very much.

When Mark shows up and she realizes who he is…Joanne gets upset. But she's a lawyer. She's schooled at how to keep her expression overly even. But Alex can see in her eyes she's annoyed, he can see the gears in her mind turning to process out the thought, unspoken…

'Typical Maureen.'

And Alex has to agree even more silently than she's thinking.

Mark feels awkward and calls the situation weird after Joanne does.

Alex finds it amusing on Mark's end, as he still doesn't like the wanna-be. He's sympathetic to Joanne, he likes her…he's that person he once told his sister she'd find, and just as he predicted…Maureen didn't realize it yet.

Alex was attractive…yet somehow he still got all the brains. Maureen just seemed to have the looks and the cunning of a fox.

Joanne tries to ditch him artfully, but when Alex glances at her she calls him back. The other thing Alex can't stand…is that subtle 'I'm better' way Mark goes about things. Most people wouldn't see it…but with Alex's keen eyesight?

Oh no. He already knows.

It's amusing to watch Mark talk about his sister like he knows her better than he does. He snickered quietly at the insanity of the idea.

**_"Feel like going insane?  
>Got a fire in your brain?<br>And you're thinking of drinking gasoline?"_**

Mark asked as he hopped down the stage steps.

**_"As a matter of fact…"_**

That surprised Alex a little.

**_"Honey I know this act.  
>It's called The Tango: Maureen."<em>**

Mark thinks he knows it all, or so Alex thinks. And Alex thinks he's right about several things, he knows he is.

**_"The Tango: Maureen!  
>It's a dark, dizzy, merry-go-round!<br>As she keeps you dangling!"_**

Joanne shook her head, reluctant to believe, and the ten that watched wanted to stop Mark and tell him he was wrong. But he stayed quiet.

**_"You're wrong."_**

She was trying to convince herself. Her dark eyes glanced at Alex, who nodded. She looked less worried.

**_"Your heart she is mangling!"_**

Dip-shit…

**_"It's different with me."_**

Joanne tried to defend, Alex didn't want to cut in and tell her she was right, not yet. He wanted to hear what else Mark had to say.

**_"And you toss and you turn,  
>cause her cold eyes can burn!<br>Yet you yearn, and you churn and rebound!"_**

**_"I think I know what you mean."_**

Oh no.

**_"The Tango: Maureen."_**

Alex let his booted feet drop from the table and leaned forward, preparing to step in if he felt too offended.

**_"Has she ever pouted her lips  
>and called you…"Pookie"?"<em>**

Alex had heard her use that on several people. But mostly she used the word in a huffy and annoyed tone. To get people to back off.

**_"Never."_**

**_"Have you ever doubted a kiss or two?"_**

All of Maureen's partners had, he could see it on their faces. But Joanne had no reason to. Mo had come back from a bar, she wanted to get drunk and she was but only slightly. She looked like she'd been crying. It was Friday, so Alex was wide awake. He asked her what was wrong, she cried as she told him some guy tried to kiss her and she actually slapped him. Alex had simply laughed and told her for the umpteenth time that she was in love.

**_"This is…spooky.  
>Did you swoon when she walked through the door?"<em>**

**_"Every time. So be…  
>cautious."<em>**

**_"Did she moon over other boys?"_**

**_"More than moon."_**

**_"I'm getting…nauseous."_**

The height of Joanne's hate of men in that way never ceased to amuse Alex. Kurt said it was because when she was younger guys would always just try and get in her pants. She found it insulting and disgusting. But that wasn't why she was a lesbian, she just didn't like men. Period.

He didn't know Joanne even knew how to Tango. Mark thought it was hard to do the Tango backwards…it must be hard having sympathy for women, Alex thought.

When Joanne snapped at him and dropped him, Alex finally stood. "Nice concussion J.J." He laughed. She looks up at him.

"Help?"

He jogs over and crouches down. "He's knocked out. Give him a minute or two and he'll be fine. There's no blood." Alex checks the film-maker over.

Joanne sighs in relief.

"What he said about Mo-Mo. Don't believe him. She cheated on him and she took him on the Tango, but she's never cheated on you."

Joanne looks even more relieved.

"She cares about you Jo. She flirts, sure, but she'd never hurt you on purpose. Don't trust anything Mark says. Nobody knows my sister better than me. Don't let it get to you."

"Is she going to start calling me Pookie?"

He laughs and shrugs. "Most likely. She called Mark that but she used it when she was annoyed with him. She calls you that when you're not around, but when she talks about you it used as en endearment."

"That's good."

Mark groans and his head twitches to the side. "Mark," Joanne shakes his shoulder. He blinks his blue eyes behind his thick glasses and a smile creeps onto his face. Alex thought it was creepy. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, how you feeling Jew-bro?" Alex smirks, Mark always hated that.

Mark shoots him a short glare before letting himself take a helping hand. "I feel pretty good by the way." He smiles and heads for the stage.

Joanne frowns, glancing at her girlfriend's younger brother, or as Maureen called him, 'her baby'. "I feel lousy."

He grins and playfully punches her in the shoulder gently. "Let's go for a coffee after." She smiles back and nods, following mark to the stage.

"And we're patched." Mark grins as his voice echoes, turning to look at Joanne who is going to answer the phone.

"Thanks." She sounds surprised as she picks up the phone. "Maureen, hi, honey…" she pauses. "Pookie?" She looks past a smirking Mark to a calm and collected Alex who simply nods.

"You never call me that."

Alex takes the phone. "Mo-Mo, we're going for coffee."

_"Okay, thanks for helping Jo baby A."_

He can feel his cheeks heat up at his old, long-term nock name. "Quit calling me that!" He hisses into the speaker.

She laughs. _"But A you're my baby brother!"_

"Mo-Mo," his voice has an underlying threat. She gets it.

_"Fine, go have coffee. If I didn't know you I'd think you were trying to steal my woman."_

"If you're not careful you may have to worry about being ditched for someone more concerned with the human condition." He counters.

_"Alex…"_

"Whatever, we're all good here. Don't do anything stupid. See you later." He hangs up before she can respond, and even though he knows she'll snap at him for it later…when he looks at the woman that could be part of his short family…he can't bring himself to care.

"Pookie." Mark snickers. Joanne and Alex glare at him.

"Shut your trap, _artist_." The teen cuts, grabbing Jo's hand as he tugs her along after himself.

When he's walking with Joanne later, steaming coffee in hands, she asks why he hates Mark so much.

Alex shrugs. "The fact that he's so smug when he's right. The fact that he knew my sister was cheating on him but he still stayed with her. Mark and I just don't click. But I never told Mo that because she seemed to really like him. But then suddenly she didn't and then she dumped him."

Joanne nods, sipping her coffee. "Maureen has a lot of issues."

That makes him laugh. "But you love her."

Joanne nods. "I do."

"She loves you too yunno." He glances side-long at her. "It's just going to take her longer to get it."

The lawyer laughs. "I know she does, but I know she won't say it…not yet. It's just…I don't know if it's pathetic or just crazy."

"What?" he asks curiously as he sips his coffee, waiting patiently for her to answer.

She smiles, eyes glazed. "When we met…something told me she was it. Something tells me that even now, but sometimes I wonder if I just wish I'd find the right one so hard I'm settling."

Alex shakes his head. "She's it. Opposites attract. But…I can tell just by looking at you two, you were made for each other. However crazy or pathetic it seems sometimes. I get it."

And when Jo goes to meet a client for a late lunch, he heads back to the apartment. He meets an angry Maureen on the couch. "How's the cheating going?" It became a habit to say years ago. Now he used it as something affectionate, because he knew she wasn't cheating. Which was very good for her.

"Are you trying to get her to dump me?" She stands, hands resting on her hips.

He can't help but think about how typical it is for his diva sister. He slips by and into the kitchen. She follows, and he expects it because they all know that no one gets away with ignoring Maureen Johnson.

"I should ask you that question." He replies, taking a cool soda from the fridge and popping the top of the cool glass.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Her eyes narrow.

"You know exactly what I mean Maureen." He returned her narrowed gaze. "You keep acting like you're not in a relationship…pretty soon I'm sure you won't be." He warned.

"Joanne wouldn't leave me."

"Don't be so sure." He mumbled, remembering Jo and Mark talking about her earlier.

Maureen huffed. "I have a protest to get ready for."

Alex scoffed and headed to his room, only to leave it a few minutes later in a powdery blue jean jacket. He headed out to The Space. He was meeting Kurt and the others there. And Collins with his new girlfriend…or boyfriend…Alex wasn't sure.

Kurt grabbed him into a hug and pulled him along through the crowd to meet the others.

"Angel, this is my brother from another mother, Alex Johnson. Maureen's little brother." Kurt introduced him to a tall feminine cross dresser that looked very pretty in Alex's eyes. But there were tell-tale signs that this female was a male. But Alex wouldn't call him on it.

"Nice to meet you ma'am." He held out his hand for Angel to take.

Angel giggled. "Ohhh, a gentleman I see. Nice to meet you too." She took his hand and gave it a firm shake before letting go. "So what's it like being related to Maureen?" A soft Spanish accent accompanied the softer voice.

Alex searched for a good enough word. "Complicated." He settled.

She laughed and looked around when her name was called. "Mimi!" She waved and pulled a shorter Latina into her arms in a hug.

Alex greeted Collins, Sam, and Gadget.

Roger came into view and patted Alex on the shoulder. "Long time no see kid." He grinned. Alex chuckled and they hugged. The Latina that was talking with Angel popped into view.

"And this is?" Alex asked nicely.

"Ah, Mimi, this is my friend Alex. He's Maureen's baby brother. He's in a band." Alex saw a flash of envy in Roger's eyes as he mentioned the band. But it was gone as quick as it came.

Mimi, he'd heard of her, even seen a picture someone took on one of his trips into the business part of the city. She was a stripper. She smiled at him and offered a hand. "Nice to meet you, I've heard about you from Kurt!"

Alex took her hand, smiling. "You know Kurt?"

"Who doesn't? That guy is something else isn't he? He made some costumes for some of the private exotic dancers." She explains as they release hands.

Alex nods and indulges in regular human conversation. He loves it…not having a gossip buzzing in his ear. He wasn't even sure how they'd started doing that anyways.

Maureen comes in on a motorcycle, and Alex resists rolling his eyes because only his sister would pick something to show off in such a way. But he marvels as she moves on stage, dances and sings and croons unashamed. He admires his big sister for her courage…in show business. In life she's a little more than a coward.

But then it gets out of hand. It turns into a riot. And he, Gadget, and Kurt end up getting separated from the others.

He knew they were meeting at the Life Café later, so he had no problem slugging a cop that had Kurt by the arm. Gadget pulled the red head up as more police came and Alex kicked one in the gut while Kurt kneed another between the legs. They pulled each other out of the riot and ran as fast as their legs could work towards the café.

It was cold; Alex felt it biting at his face as the snow fell and stung the tips of his ears and the backs of his hands. And he could feel the blood swelling to make a bruise around his right eye.

"Finally!" He heard Kurt call and Gadget let out a laugh of relief.

Alex spotted Maureen and Joanne with Roger, Mimi, and Angel. The others must have been inside. Kurt bolted ahead and ran to his cousin who immediately started checking him over for marks of any kind.

Gadget hurried inside.

Maureen's eyes widened as she saw her brother. She pulled him closer and examined him. "Who did that?" She touched his cheek carefully.

"Some dumb cop. I think I got him back though. I'm not sure." He hissed when she touched the area over his cheek bone.

"Come on, let's go inside. We'll put some ice on it." She pulls him along, and Alex remembers all the times before when he would get hurt and she'd turn into his mom instead of his big sister. Joanne and Kurt ahead of them as they entered the café.

Kurt glanced back and smiled, making Alex chuckle. He ignored the slight discomfort of having his collar pulled up to touch his jaw and let his sister put a cold pack of ice to his face as they put the tables together and met with others from the protest.

He may as well celebrate whatever outcome this would have, good or bad. But Alex knows there is going to be something bad coming from this, and he knows the others all know it too.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Second chapter!**

**My first try at a RENT fanfic! I own nothing but Alex, Kurt, Sam, and gadget...and any names I make up along the way! And the title Isfelvic.**

**Isfelvic is a word _I_ made up! And only _I_ know it's meaning! **

**Sorry for any mistakes!**

**This is not a one-shot!**

* * *

><p>He watches his sister, his cheek is now covered with a bandage that had oily ointment that made him want to itch it, he blinks and ignores the discomfort.<p>

Maureen is a performer…and she always has been since she could walk and talk. She was dramatic before she knew the word drama and dancing silly dances in front of cameras before she understood acting. She's been dressing up just because since before she could say theatricality the right way.

Alex watches as she goes from friendly…to how she was when she left to dump Mark. Cold and staring, her smile slips from her face and is pulled lower into a frown. But then she smirks as she pulls off her gloves. And he knows she's angry, they both know she's actually beyond furious but angry simply sums it up better and easier.

He feels Kurt stiffen beside him and he knows he's watching her, watching with bated breath just like himself and Joanne were. With Maureen…it was always eagerness before the storm and furious once it passed…and while the storm was happening…it was eerily calm and even.

And Maureen is tired now; she's bypassed neighborly concern for the night. She's bypassed using Mark (_once again_) when he gave her good news and she kissed him, and Alex saw the hope in his eyes but he and his sister both know his hope is hopeless. She's bypassed sisterly concern when she pulled him into the bathroom and covered his cheek and most of his eye in ointment to make his bruise vanish faster.

She's tired…just tired. But now she has to be angry.

"Benjamin Coffin III; the enemy of Avenue A." She announces much softer than he knows they both expected.

"You got guts man." He hears Sam call from beside Kurt.

"Hell yeah, after everything that just went down? You got a whole lot of nerve showin your face in here." He hears Collins agree.

Alex nods his agreement and sits forward facing Maureen as she pulls off her jacket and sits. She angry, but she's tired of talking about emotions for the night. He glances up as Benny comes over. He doesn't know Benny on a close personal level. But he knows what he's heard and he knows what he's seen.

So he knows that this man…this sellout…needs to justify himself. Needs to feel…free. But being free for him is hopeless as he let his want for money rot his soul.

"This was not my fault."

"Go to hell." Alex smirks at his sister. The way she snaps out comments sometimes…it's like saying everyone walks around with five dollars in their pocket. And everyone could if everyone weren't afraid, but Maureen isn't afraid, and Alex isn't afraid…but Benny is.

"You put those cops on standby." Mark comments.

"Yes, but I never wanted it to get out of hand."

Justification…the need to feel justified for your actions…Alex doesn't know what that feels like. He's never had to justify anything to anyone for anything.

"Why did Muffy-," Roger starts.

"Allison." Benny corrects.

Alex watches the human symptom unfold every day and every night with more amusement every time.

He glances sideways to see Roger smirking. "-miss the show?"

"There was a death in the family." Benny states somewhat sadly. And Alex thinks that whoever died…he must not have loved them as much as she did, because he's here.

He looks to his sister who catches his eye and then looks to her right. She's trying not to feel angry, but these things…you just can't help sometimes.

"Who died?" He hears Angel's soft voice ask curiously and cautiously.

Alex looks up at the dark skinned man. "Our Akita." He states plainly, frowning only a little.

He blinks, he turns and looks at Angel who glances around and meets his eye only for a second. And it only takes a second for him to know the rumor he heard was true. He felt bad for the dog…barking to death must feel like suffocation.

"Evita." He hears Mark and Roger speak together in realization.

Benny takes the laughing the wrong way.

**_"You make fun,  
>yet I'm the one attempting to do some good.<br>Or do you really want a neighborhood…  
>Where people piss on your stoop every night?"<em>**

He walks down the table.

Alex feels angry now. Benny…he must think he's so superior.

**_"Bohemia, Bohemia's a fallacy in your head.  
>This is Calcutta.<br>Bohemia is dead." _**

He pats Gadget on the shoulder as he passes back around the other side of the table. Alex smirked as the teen stood and followed the man, mocking his walk and turned to face the table when Benny looked around at the laughter.

He smiles.

**_"Dearly beloved,  
>we gather here to say our goodbyes."<em>**

Alex hears people in the back chanting...

**_"_****_Dies irae - dies illa, Kyrie eleison  
>Yitgadal v'yitkadash."<em>**

Gadget turns to face the evil of corporate America. Alex looks at his sister again, she smiles at him before looking up at his best friend.

**_"Here she lies!"_**

He crosses his arms over his chest and falls back. And everyone stands and passes him back to the end of the table where he's suspended carefully.

**_"No one knew her worth!  
>To the late, great daughter of Mother Earth.<br>_****_On these nights when we  
>celebrate the birth<br>in that little town of Bethlehem  
>we raise our glass - you bet your <em>**ass**_"_**

Alex laughs when his sister hops onto the table and flashes her own at the evil Americans.

**_"To La vie Boheme"_**

He joined with everyone as they all sang and grinned at each other

**_"La vie Boheme  
>La vie Boheme<br>La vie Boheme  
>La vie Boheme"<em>**

Gadget stands and takes a drink before belting back into the song and the meaning he wanted to get across.

**_"To days of inspiration  
>Playing hookey, making<br>Something out of nothing  
>The need to express-<br>To communicate,  
>To going against the grain,<br>Going insane, going mad  
>To loving tension, no pension<br>To more than one dimension,  
>To starving for attention,"<em>**

Everyone moved out and around their side of the table in a circle, eventually rotating back to their seats.

**_"Hating convention, hating pretension  
>Not to mention of course,<br>Hating dear old Mom and Dad  
>To riding your bike,<br>Midday past the three-piece suits  
>To fruits - to no absolutes-<br>To Absolute - to choice-  
>To the Village Voice-<br>To any passing fad  
>To being an us for once ... instead of a them!"<em>**

**_"La vie Boheme, La vie Boheme"_**

Alex twirled Kurt round and round, ignoring the fact that Joanne had just grabbed his sister's ass quite possessively.

"Ahhemm." One of the two evil doers coughed at them.

Maureen turned; trying to ignore the fact that even though others had done such an act with her…she didn't love is as much as when Jo did it. "Hey Mister - she's my sister." She mocks. And once again Alex ignores something that would make him uncomfortable if he over thought it and simply laughs with the others because the look on the man's face _is_funny.

Their waiter comes as everyone settles down for just a moment.

**_"So that's five miso soup, four seaweed salad  
>Three soy burger dinner, two tofu dog platter<br>and one pasta with meatless balls."_**

"Ew." Kurt laughs when he hears Roger make a sound of disgust at the meatless balls. Alex had to admit it could have been stated much better.

"It tastes the same." Collins reassured, or maybe he was trying to but it didn't sound convincing.

"Sure…if you close your eyes." Mimi laughs with Angel.

**_"And thirteen orders of fries.  
>Is that all here?"<em>**

"Wine and beer!" Even Sam joined in on that one.

Now everyone is totally relaxed, aside from the three in front of their extended table. Mimi pulled Angel onto the table and raised and empty glass.

**_"To hand-crafted beers  
>Made in local breweries,"<em>**

Angel crawled between her legs and helped.

**_"To yoga, to yogurt, to rice and beans and cheese  
>to leather, to dildos, to curry vindaloo<br>To Huevos Rancheros and Maya Angelou."_**

Alex laughed harder with Kurt at the dildo part. He figured there were several people happy with that invention.

**_"Emotion, devotion, to causing a commotion  
>Creation, vacation,"<em>**

Kurt pointed and Alex looked…

"Mucho masturbation." Mark sang with humor as Maureen was hoisted up and shamelessly spread her legs and Alex was thankful they were clad in jeans.

**_"Compassion, to fashion, to passion when it's new."_**

_"To Sontag."_Collins grinned.

_"To Sondheim."_Angel raised her arms.

_"To anything taboo."_Alex rolled his eyes at the girls. Maureen grinned back and blew him a kiss, he swiped it away.

_"Ginsberg, Dylan, Cunnigham and Cage, "  
><em>  
><em>"Lenny Bruce."<em>

_"Langston Hughes."_

"To the stage!" That one didn't shock anyone there as Maureen fell back on the table and grabbed her brother on either side of his head and pulled him in. Alex pulled away too little too late with a red lipstick mark on his forehead, but he laughed all the same.

**_"To Uta. To Buddha. Pablo Neruda, too."_**

Roger and Collins danced down the table.**_  
><em>**  
><em>"Why Dorothy and Toto went over the rainbow<br>to blow off Auntie Em."_Sam copied Mark and Mimi as they made vulgar hand and arm motions.

**_"La vie Boheme!"_**

Kurt howled, laughing as his cousin and his 'brother's sister made out on the table while Alex let his head fall back with a groan.

"Sisters?

_"We're close."_

Now Angel and Collins were mocking the two old men.  
><em><br>"Brothers!"_

Alex jumped up with his sister and they swung their heads around and they laughed as their hair became a mess.

**_"Bisexuals, trisexuals, homo sapiens,  
>Carcinogens, hallucinogens, men,<br>Pee Wee Herman  
>German wine, turpetine, Gertrude Stein<br>Antoniotti, Bertolucci, Kurosawa  
>Carmina Burana."<em>**

**_"To apathy, to entropy, to empathy, ecstacy  
>Vaclav Havel - The Sex Pistols, 8BC,"<em>**

They all motioned with their hands.

**_"To no shame - never playing the Fame Game,"  
><em>**  
><em>"To marijuana!"<em>Collins sang happily as he let out a breathy puff of sweet scented smoke.

**_"To sodomy, it's between God and me  
>To S &amp; M!"<em>**

Alex tried not to laugh as Benny lead the other men out calling, "Waiter...Waiter...Waite ...Waiter!"

**_"La vie Boheme!"  
><em>**_  
>"In honor of the death of Bohemia an impromptu salon<br>will commence immediately following dinner ...  
>Maureen Johnson, just<br>back from her spectacular one-night engagement at the eleventh street lot,  
>will perform Native American tribal chants<br>backwards,"_

Maureen was helped onto the table and gave a lame attempt at The Robot.

_"Through her vocoder, while accompanying herself on the electric  
>cello - which she ain't never studied."<em>Collins grinned.

_"And Mark Cohen will preview his new documentary about his inability  
>to hold an erection on the high holy days."<em>Roger made fun of Mark, which Alex and Maureen both found hilarious.

_"And Mimi Marquez, clad only in bubble wrap,  
>will perform her famous lawn chair-handcuff dance to the sounds<br>of iced tea being stirred.  
>And Roger will attempt to write a bittersweet, evocative song."<em>Mark continued, and Alex had to wonder if the bubble wrap was an actual fantasy of his.

When Roger tried to play a solo Mark interrupted.

_"That doesn't remind us of "Musetta's Waltz!"_  
><em><br>"Angel Dumott Schunard will model the latest fall fashions  
>from Paris while accompanying herself on the 10 gallon plastic pickle tub."<em> Collins helped his now official girlfriend onto the table where she posed (quite well) and strut down the table like a professional supermodel.  
><em><br>"And Collins will recount his exploits as anarchist -  
>including the tale of the successful reprogramming of the M.I.T.<br>virtual reality equipment to self-destruct, as it broadcasts the words:" _Angel jumped from the table and hopped onto the bar to get a more powerful meaning.

**_"Actual reality - Act Up - Fight AIDS"_**

Everyone stood and raised a fist.

Alex had more fun that night than he had in a really long time.

And for some reason…he suspects…he knew Roger and Mimi were technically an item and really liked each other before they did.

But oh well.

These things do happen.

And before he realizes it…it's the start of a new year and he's in his second year of college and standing with his larger group of friends as they count down the seconds to one.

Joanne pops a bottle of liquor, which they both know is a bad idea because he and Mo both know she's a light weight in the extreme. He watches curiously as she lets Maureen take the first sip and they share a kiss…it's like there's a mistletoe over them all the time.

When Alex thinks back on that year carefully…he thinks it went surprisingly well. Even that night after the riot. Maureen is borderline and he watches her more closely now than ever. She's confused and lost and he has to be there to pull her out of her own madness…just like always. She's his sister…his big sister…if he wasn't happy to pull her out every time she got sucked back in, who would be?

Probably Mark he figures.

He glances at the filmmaker as he takes a swig of the drink Sam passes to him. He's filming everything. But Alex notices that it keeps going back to her, and he knows that she knows because she glances at him sometimes with a pleading look.

Sam is gone suddenly and so is Gadget, he notices numbly as he walks with his crowd of friends and some strangers. He's dressed relatively normal for the occasion. He wasn't one to dress up in cat suits and whiskers like Mo was.

He pulled on fake sword and a bandit mask covered his mouth. That was his costume. Besides the decorative blood splatters of ketchup on his white shirt.

He blinks at the camera Mark has in his face. "What are you supposed to be?"

"Your death." Alex answered sarcastically. "I'm a dead Japanese samurai." His voice is plain…he still doesn't like the blonde man.

"What about you Kurt?" Mark asks the teen.

"California surfer." Kurt answers. He's wearing a shaggy blonde wig over his red locks and black board shorts with yellow flowers and flip flops. A towel is over his shoulders. Alex has always wondered how he can endure the cold that well.

"Nice!" Mark compliments.

There's a small bang and some screams and they turn…Alex hears his name before he sees them. Sam and Gadget are running full speed through the crowds of people, chased by a very pissed shop owner.

Kurt exchanges a look with him before the both take off running. And he laughs because he has no idea why they're running. But they're running together and Alex can hear Maureen shouting at him to run like the wind.

Alex feels his hair lift and his vest/hoodie slide down his shoulders, he feels almost weightless. And his slipping vest makes him feel like he's wearing a cape. He missed this feeling, the feeling of fun. He can hear Kurt laughing and Sam and Gadget howling happily with wolfish laughter. This is his pack. He runs with them, laughs with them, fights with them…and someday he'll die with them. Because he knows that they all know they're forever.

And to Alex…he's given forever his word. And in his world…his word is law.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Second chapter!**

**My first try at a RENT fanfic! I own nothing but Alex, Kurt, Sam, and gadget...and any names I make up along the way! And the title Isfelvic.**

**Isfelvic is a word _I_ made up! And only _I_ know it's meaning! **

**Sorry for any mistakes!**

**I'm trying to make the brother/sister relationship between Alex and Maureen as realistic as I _possibly_ can. Bear with me.**

**And follow me on twitter, or check out my FB. It's on my profile.**

* * *

><p>When Alex, Kurt, Sam, and Gadget were done popping firecrackers Sam had snagged off of some bully and done with the box of cheap beer they met the others halfway to Collins, Mark, and Roger's apartment.<p>

Alex nodded to Maureen. It was about five in the morning. They needed some sleep; they'd been up for just about sixteen hours. Maureen nodded back; she gave him a sleepy smile and leaned against him lazily when he was next to her. He's used to this by now, this is familiar.

"There's a padlock on the door!" Mimi calls; she's leaning against it and looking over at the others with sleepy eyes.

"Benny." Roger hisses. "Son of a-,"

"Hold on, wait a minute." Angel calls; she brushes back her blonde wig and steps closer to a nearby trashcan. She hands her purse to Collins. "I saw this once on TV." She lifts the trashcan and turns it, spilling out all the junk and Alex is sure there's probably a used condom and some dirty needles in there somewhere. If not both then there's one or the other.

"That's an 'all service' woman you got there." Roger complimented as the others cheered.

Collins grinned and handed Angel back her purse as she ushered the others in. Alex walked side by side with Maureen, her head still on his shoulder. He looked over to see Kurt being dramatic about an ache in his stomach with Joanne. He chuckled and wondered just how many times this had happened.

How many times he'd found Maureen hung over at a bar and dragged her back home with her head on his shoulder and whining quietly about her headache as they walked up the stairs on the same step. His rough estimation was somewhere between eighty to a hundred.

Alex felt ironic as Mark opened the large metal door. Everything was gone. It had looked somewhat empty when he and Maureen had moved out. With just a couch and a TV and some chairs with that annoying metal table. (He'd stubbed his toe on that hell trap more than once on groggy morning Saturdays.)

He stepped to the side with Kurt, Sam, and Gadget. They all just wanted to sleep, and they'd come here hoping to get some.

"He took everything." Roger pointed out.

"Really? We thought everything suddenly sprouted a 'make invisible' button and Benny thought he'd be a meanie and pushed it on everything you own." Sam commented, earning a snicker from Kurt and Gadget.

Roger glared at him. "Shove it."

"I respect your homosexuality and all but I don't swing your way. Thanks for the offer though. Nobody's ever asked so unashamed before." Alex had to smack the blonde on the back of his shaved head. He snickered but shut up.

"He took my stuff too Collins!" Angel whined to her boyfriend, who put an arm over her shoulders in comfort.

Maureen hissed, strutting from one side of the apartment to the other. "He's such a damn sweetheart." She'd never liked Benny…nobody that changes that much all the time was to be trusted, she'd told Alex this once, he'd told her she didn't _have_ to like anybody but she _should_ show some respect…it fell on deaf ears.

"What now?" Mark asked, showing his arms up as if asking for help from above.

Alex looked to Joanne, and just over her shoulder he saw Mo do the same. He smirked.

"Technically now that you're inside you're considered squatters. You can't be arrested and Benny can't destroy you on the street." Jo spoke up. "It gives you time to get some money together."

"That's my lawyer sister! You go girl!" Kurt grinned; she turned to him and smiled back.

Alex heard Collins laugh; he couldn't help but find this satiation far more than mildly amusing. Roger and Mark hadn't been able to scrape up enough money to pay for even just heat in months. He quietly thanked his lucky star that he and Mo moved in with Joanne, where she made enough money for everything extra…even Maureen's bouts of shoe splurging.

"There's always _Buzzline_." His sister points out and pops a chip into her mouth crunching loudly before closing her mouth.

"Yeah, just sell your soul." Gadget shrugs. "It sounds bad, but at least you'll have an earned roof over your head."

"Dude makes a good point. Do it." Sam encourages.

Alex doesn't join in when they playfully chant, 'Do it, do it, do it, do it!' He simply sighs and follows Maureen and Joanne back home after mark agrees. Kurt hails a cab and goes his own way and Alex waves as Sam and Gadget run off down a side alley and jump a low brick wall like the cops are on their tails.

"You wanna come with us Al?" Joanne asks nicely. Her arm is around his sister's shoulders, and he finds humor in the fact that he doesn't feel that brotherly worry like he had with all Maureen's old relationships.

"Sure, why not? I have nothing better planned." He answers evenly, he smiles.

Maureen glances at him, she's worried. And they both know he's going so he can keep an eye on her, because they both know if he doesn't pull her back she'll do something stupid.

So he goes, and he deals with Marks whining. He wasn't one to believe in certain labels, like the saying that all the Jewish people do is whine and complain. He always thought that was very rude…until he met Mark.

He's dressed in his Sunday best, even though it's a weekday. A white work shirt with a gray vest and a black coat to match his black pants and work boots. He had encouraged Mo to dress up more, but she said she looked hot…he figured someone needed to show her the finer points of first impressions.

Joanne says it may be in their best interest for Maureen and Alex to stay out here. And Joanne means it in a good way and he knows they both know that. And he knows that she just wants him to keep her from doing anything stupid, just like he'd planned. But Maureen is hurt.

She hides it under a false tone of annoyance and slight anger, and even though Alex isn't looking at her (his back is to the desk of the secretary)…he doesn't need to see her face. He can hear the hurt. She was hurt for the wrong reason but hurt all the same. She thought Joanne was ashamed of her, but Alex knew that Maureen was a powerful woman (even if she didn't) and he knew she was telling the truth when she said they didn't want to come on to strong.

A hurt Maureen does stupid things.

Like when a bully said she was too bitchy and talked to much back in grade school. It hurt her feelings (which she still won't admit) and because she was hurt…said bully ended up being locked into a trash bin for three hours before Alex found out and let him go. (He'd been tossed in via jocks.)

Or the time when their father told her she dressed to outright for a girl her age. He won't forget that look of hurt and then anger as she stomped up stairs and came back down five minutes later in a shorter black skirt and six inch pumps with harlot red lipstick on her lips.

He thought she looked too much like a woman that was ashamed and too embarrassed to admit it than the adult image she was going for.

Alex goes to get a drink as Jo and Mark settle in for the meeting. He knows it isn't wise to leave her alone for more than a minute, but he trusts her enough (or he thinks he does) to leave her alone for five minutes. He comes back to find her flirting with the secretary, who (probably not getting much attention) latched onto the honey sweet compliments like a leech on flesh.

"Stop." He states simply. She glances at him, she looks guilty. "Quit doing that."

"What?"

"That, this…you do it every time your feelings get hurt. You're just making yourself look worse." He doesn't mean it badly, and he doesn't mean it to come out as frustrated and angry as it sounded leaving his mouth. But it sounds that way to her, and it sounds that way to him once he replays it for himself. But words are something you can never take back.

And he watches with regret as the expression goes from guilt to crumpling into anger and pain.

He sits for a while, they don't talk, and she doesn't look at him. And he tries to ignore the pull of the water taking its toll. He can't take anymore and leaves quietly. They both know she'll do something stupid.

And when he gets back, she's giving the woman her number. He says nothing so she doesn't notice him; he continues to stare as Joanne and Mark come out from their meeting. He knows Joanne saw her; the look of betrayal on her face says it all. She walks past silent.

Maureen grabs her coat and stands, she turns and suddenly they're face to face. And if his vision was better he'd be able to see his own disappointed face looking back at him in her eyes. He sighs and doesn't bother shaking his head. He gives up. He can feel his shoulders slump. He was going to say sorry…but what's the point now? He struts away after Joanne and Mark.

He saw the look on her face before he turned away. She was disappointed in herself.

Joanne tries to ignore her, and so does he, and he knows Maureen knows it. That's why she keeps muttering things in the background, she wants Joanne's attention. That's why she was flirting with the girl in the first place. No, she'd never cheat, but she wanted to stop flirting. She'd told him that once.

"I sold my soul." Mark complains.

"Yeah, for three grand a segment." Joanne reasons.

"You wouldn't have gotten anything without my protest." Maureen states heatedly.

"Quit it." Alex snaps from his place beside Joanne. She looks even more hurt. Joanne agrees. "Why does everything always have to be about you?" She asks in annoyance.

He can see the struggle taking place, the cogs turning and the tears she's trying to keep down. The two people she loves the most are attacking her on all fronts and she's trying to fight back. "Me? You're the one helping my ex-boyfriend." She snaps, blinking back her tears.

Alex can't help but heave a sigh. He's tired. He doesn't want to attack anybody in any way, but he's running on a two hour nap and two cups of coffee with an espresso shot…he's _tired_.

"He needed a lawyer Maureen. I figured I could help, seeing as you are the one that got them kicked out."

He was supposed to be the peacekeeper, he always had been before. "Let's just agree to disagree, we're all tired. You can argue about whatever you want after you get some rest." He tried.

"You know what, why don't you and Mark get an accountant's ledger and a bottle of champagne and go at it?" He could hear the jealousy. She was used to Joanne treating her like she was the sun; all powerful.

"Invite the girl you were just flirting with and I will." Joanne snaps.

Then he remembers why Joanne is upset, and why he feels so damn disappointed. He stays quiet and stares ahead.

"I was just being friendly Pookie." Justification…suddenly his own sister reminds him of that scumbag Benny. It makes him sick.

They stop a little ways from the corner and Alex turns to watch.

Maureen throws her hands up. "What do you want from me Jo?" He always figured that was more than obvious, and he knows that she knows what Joanne has always been asking for…but she's just to afraid to follow through. "I'll do anything." He felt his eyebrows shoot up…he'd never heard that one before.

"You want me to be your slave?" Alex thought that was highly offensive to say to a woman who had family members that used to _be_ slaves. But he keeps his mouth shut, he'll mention it later.

"You want me to obey your every command?" He watches as his sister pulls Joanne's sleeve like a petulant child with desperation brimming in her eyes.

And he knew that Maureen was more in love with Joanne Jefferson than she could probably ever hope to show or say in any right words or actions. And he knew that she knew and he knew that Joanne knew…but one was too scared to admit it and the other was getting tired of waiting for it.

"Tell me what you want."

He can hear Joanne sigh tiredly. "Commitment."

"That's all?"

Alex can't help himself. "Oh my God." He mutters a little louder than planned. He can see her looking at him from the corner of his eye.

"All you have to do is ask, and I'm all yours." She says it like she isn't already. That annoys Alex.

"Technically that's what people ask when they ask someone to be with them. It's usually a well-known, nonverbal thing." He states loudly.

He hears her huff at him and he turns his head so he can watch from the corner of his eye more clearly. Joanne asks what she's been asked to say. He knows she thinks it's ridiculous, he knows that because most people with common sense would be thinking the same thing as he is. That and he and Jo seem to have the same line of thought on most things.

However; it was like a smack in the face…or better yet a well-placed punch to his gut when Maureen f-ing Johnson dropped down to one knee…pulled off the ring on her own ring finger (on her right hand) and slid the ring onto Joanne's left ring finger. He wonders for a moment if she'd had it planned and if she had for how long.

Maureen had never proposed to anyone before, never not cheated, and never agreed to fully commit to anyone…not until Joanne. And Alex wonders why it's her…maybe because they're totally opposites…just like Yin and Yang.

Balance.

And he thinks the term Yin and Yang apply for more than one reason when Jo takes Maureen's hand and pulls her up. It feels like he's only just registered she had a darker skin tone than himself. Sure he'd _seen_ it…but he never thought about it.

And when Maureen glances at him…he smirks. Sure he knows they'll have to settle their problem sometime today, but he smirks because his hunch had been right all along. No; he hadn't seen marriage. But he'd seen in his sister and Joanne what he saw in his friends.

Forever.

And fuck if forever wasn't long enough. He'd up it to forever and a damn day through eternity. Because family and friends come first. The people you love. And if you couldn't be with the people you loved forever…why bother with anything ever?

When they talk, it's later, Jo is in bed and he's sitting on the couch staring at the wall. He doesn't feel like getting up to go to his room. She'd sat beside him.

The pause goes on for what felt to him like an hour. But he knows its only been seconds. He opens his mouth. "I'm sorry." His voice is soft and quiet and tired.

The room is dark, covered in pale gray from the lights of the street outside.

"It's okay, I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have acted that way." He thinks he's never heard her sound more quiet and at peace then that.

"You scared?"

"I'm terrified."

And they both know she's not scared of being with Joanne this way. She's scared because she's acting so unlike herself she's gotten whiplash from the almost sudden change. But to him it's not sudden at all. It's been subtle, and even though she doesn't realize, the only reason she's ever flirted since meeting Joanne…has been to make said lawyer jealous so she could get more attention.

"You'll be alright."

"You'll be at the party right?"

"I know you're not seriously asking me that."

He's the only family she has.

"Think about it Mo-Mo…we're gunna have a whole new family."

"I know. It's scary."

"Kinda."

"…That person you told me about once…when I was still with Mark…it was Joanne wasn't it?"

"How could I have known that? I hadn't met her then. I wasn't even sure the person existed."

She laughs and pats his knee in the big sister way. "Get some sleep." She stands and heads off to bed where he knows her finance is waiting only half awake to pull her closer when she crawls into bed.

He sits a few minutes longer before he stands and heads to his room. He passes their open door. Maureen has Jo's hand between both of hers and she's planting kisses on each knuckle. And with how natural it looks…he wonders how long she'd done it for.

It hits him, only this time like a pat on the back, that he's never been more right about anything than his sister. Because seeing her here like this…he knows she's hopelessly in love. And the fact that she's never been in love scares her…it's a stranger in the corner to her.

He just shakes his head and goes to bed. He's _just_ to tired.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Alright, this is where it bends off the movie and I start to make it more fun and fluffy. Sorry for any OOCness**

**My first try at a RENT fanfic! I own nothing but Alex, Kurt, Sam, and Gadget...and any names I make up along the way! And the title Isfelvic.**

**Isfelvic is a word _I_ made up! And only _I_ know it's meaning! **

**Sorry for any mistakes!**

**I'm trying to make the brother/sister relationship between Alex and Maureen as realistic as I _possibly_ can. Bear with me.**

**And follow me on twitter, or check out my FB. It's on my profile.**

* * *

><p>It was daunting, the way it was staring Alex in the face, the fact that his only family member here was Maureen. Nobody else. Nobody by blood.<p>

Their family either hated them or didn't give a shit. He assumed it was a bit of both.

But he'd shrugged it off when he glanced around the table he was sitting at. Joanne to his right, Maureen to hers. Kurt to his left with Sam and Gadget respectively. Sam had even combed his unruly Mohawk to lay down more.

When it came to blood relatives…Alex just assumed he was dancing with himself on that one. Maureen didn't want any family members showing up though; she'd said so before they had gotten here. She didn't notice Alex wince.

He missed their parents.

He was happy he got to be part of a new family, but if he was honest with himself…he was scared and one glance at Mo and he knew she was kicking herself mentally as she swallowed her drink in one go. He met her gaze for a moment before looking away and shaking his head just barely.

She got another drink as their soon to be in-laws made a speech. Alex thought Joanne's parents were actually really cool. They just accepted that she was a lesbian…had his and Mo's parents seen how she was now…well…

Sam and Gadget grinned over at Alex once the speeches were over (which was a total of two for less than one minute each). Kurt had wandered over to Joanne's side.

"What?" Alex asked as Sam glanced over his shoulder.

"I guess people never really do change." Sam nodded; Gadget gave him a sympathetic look. "Kinda sad when you think about it." The powder blonde finished.

Alex frowned and turned. There was Maureen…flirting away…again. He cursed under his breath and stood, walking to her side quickly.

"What are you doing Mo?" He asked curiously.

She was clearly trying to get drunk. Sadly a few glasses of champagne wouldn't do it for her fast enough. She giggled. "We're just talking."

"I bet. Can I talk to you over here for a second?" He nodded to his right and stepped aside. She followed. She always did. "Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"Don't play dumb with _me_ Mo-Mo."

She was silent.

"You make this big commitment and yet…you're trying to get drunk and flirting with a girl who in all honesty…isn't even that pretty." He felt bad for saying it…but she wasn't. He just meant to point out that she was getting desperate…again.

"She's cute." Maureen frowned.

"Cut the bullshit Maureen. Don't dodge the subject or the point, it's _me_." Nobody knew her better. Then again…he knew several people.

Like that judge that cheated on his wife for a year until he straightened out. Or that waitress at that pub who was doing drugs but still seeking help.

"Okay first of all…you're not the adult here."

"Yes I am. Cause you're sure as hell not."

"I'm older than you Alex."

"Then act like it for once."

"Stop _attacking_ me." She hissed at him, he could see tears starting to build up. "I can't change in a night Alex, I can't. Quit making me feel like a horrible person."

"You're not even trying."

"I am."

"Then why have you already downed three glasses of champagne and why were you flirting with that chick?" He nodded to the woman.

"We were just talking and I'm not trying to get drunk."

"You were flirting and yes you are." He insisted. "Quit treating me like a kid Mo-Mo. I know you better than that. Why can't you just admit it?"

"Because," she snapped, before calming down and taking a deep breath. "Because I'm scared and I don't want to admit it because I miss it. Alex you used to look up to me. I used to be all you had and I wanted to do good so you'd be happy."

Alex blinked. "And you think this is helping to get any of that back?"

"I know it's stupid. I know. But you have your little band of friends…and I feel like a stranger around them."

"We hang out all the time Mo. They like you, and Kurt adores you." It was something he just didn't understand.

"Yeah, _Kurt_ does." She frowned. She was trying to make him see something…which he guessed he missed because her point in that stamen sailed clear over his head and he simply blinked again and shrugged.

He just didn't get it.

She huffed and turned away, walking back to get another drink and he sighed in mild frustration. "What's the matter?" He glanced to his left. Kurt, Sam, and Gadget stood watching him curiously.

"Nothing…just talking with Maureen. I don't get why she's so upset."

"What'd she say?" Sam asked, walking around to his other side.

"That she feels like a stranger around you guys and all this stuff about how she's scared and that I used to look up to her."

"And?" Kurt encouraged.

"I told her you guys like her."

Gadget chuckled. "Course we do, your sister is awesome." Sam nodded his agreement.

"I told her you adore her." Alex directed his statement at the red head. He nodded, smiling.

"Her showmanship is impressive and inspiring." He answered.

Alex smiled, forcing it to look natural. "She said you do…and then she just got upset again and went to get another drink. I don't think I understand women." He sighed.

Sam ruffled his hair. "No guy ever does." He pushed the group to go meet halfway with Maureen's friends.

Alex couldn't help feeling like something had been skipped in his conversation with his sister. But he couldn't place his finger on it. So he ignored it and listened to people mumble around him like bees and whisper in his ear about the mayor or a lawyer as he watched Joanne march over to Mo.

If he couldn't make her stop…maybe Jo could.

But it hurt…to think that he didn't know her so well anymore. Which wasn't true at all actually. He just didn't understand what she was feeling. And it must have been the same on her end. He watched carefully as Maureen was pulled aside.

He listened as they argued. And he watched with embarrassed amusement as Maureen stood on a table. However rarely she said 'I love you' to anybody but him…it was funny to see how she expressed it instead of just saying it.

** "Take me for what I am."**

He wasn't even sure what she meant…a flirt…a dangerous car wreck waiting to happen…but he was sure she didn't know what she was either.

**"Who I was meant to be."**

Nobody knew that one. It takes a whole life to figure out who you are. Of course there are the obvious things people are…like liars and cheaters or drunks and druggies. But that wasn't what anybody was meant to be.

Or he thought so anyways.

**"And if you give a damn,  
>take me, baby, or leave me."<strong>

He figured that wasn't just directed at Joanne.

**"Guess I'm leaving.  
>I'm gone!"<strong>

She glared at him as she marched by, he could see it…better than he would have liked.

_'Stop attacking me.'_

He sighed in defeat as the others filed out after Maureen. Mark and the others stayed with him in the now silent room. Mimi was sipping her drink as Angel was frowning. Sam and Gadget were watching him with curious stares. Mark and Roger shuffled in place uncomfortably and Collins was watching him expectantly.

"Alright…," he mumbled, noticing the others perk up, waiting for him. "Angel…you're with me on this one. We're going after Joanne."

She nodded, smiling now and practically skipped over to him. "Gadget, you too." The mix-eyed male grinned and hopped over the table to stand beside Angel who gave him a high-five.

"Kurt," Alex called, the red head walked in from the hallway. He had a deep frown on his face. "You and Mimi go after Maureen. Sam and Collins…can you go too?" He watched them all nod and gather into their group.

"What if they don't listen?" Mimi asked curiously.

"Then we keep trying." Angel answered. "If they don't listen today or tomorrow…we switch targets." She grinned, looking over at Alex who smiled.

"How come you don't go after Maureen?" Mark asked, stepping forward.

Alex sighed, he really didn't like Mark. "I don't think she wants to see me right now." He shrugged off their questioning looks. "Let's go people! Roger, Mark…you two can go home." He smirked at Roger's relieved expression.

He rolled his eyes when he heard Angel and Mimi shout words of encouragement to each other in Spanish.

When he, Angel, and Gadget finally reached the apartment, Maureen wasn't there. But Joanne was. And she was pissed, so much so that Alex was actually afraid to get closer.

He admired Angel's courage as she stepped forward while Joanne stormed around the living room, shoving Maureen's things into a bag. "Joanne…," she called carefully. The lawyer stopped but didn't turn around. "Chica…please…,"

"No, I don't wanna talk about Maureen. I don't want to see her face ever again."

"You don't mean that sweetie."

Joanne turned. "Yes, I do. I am sick of being made into the bad guy because I don't like something."

"I don't think she meant it like that." Gadget tried.

Joanne scoffed. "No? Then how did she mean it? Just a friendly disagreement?"

Angel wringed her fingers. "Sweetie you know how Maureen can get. She's a performer, she's just being over dramatic right now."

"Yeah, just give her some time. She'll calm down and you can talk."

"I don't want to." Joanne mumbled. "I'm tired of it. I'm tired Alex…I love you and I love your sister…but I'm just tired."

Alex looked down.

"Maureen can't stay here. You're welcome to…but I don't want to see her around here again."

He hated how it sounded so final. But he nodded and took the bag held out to him. "We'll leave you alone." It was clear they would get no-where right then.

Angel crossed her arms and glanced back at the building. "Should we leave her alone like that?" She asked worriedly.

"She'll be fine. She might get drunk or something, but she needs time to think." Alex answered. "We'll stay with Roger and the others tonight and come back tomorrow."

Angel and Gadget nodded.

After three days of no progress…Alex was staring to get scared that nothing they could do or say would make the situation better.

"Maybe we should do that thing." Angel spoke up on the fourth day. She was sitting with Collins on the new couch mark had bought. Roger, Mimi, and Gadget looked at her curiously.

"What thing sweetie?" Collins chuckled.

Angel waved her hands, trying to collect her thoughts into the right words. "That thing…that thing where," she frowned. "Where you get them together."

"That doesn't make any sense." Collins continued to chuckle.

"No, no. She means where we get them in the same place at the same time!" Mimi sat forward and Angel grinned, nodding quickly. "But we don't tell them and then they have to talk about it!" Mimi finished, clearly proud of herself for figuring out what Angel was trying to say.

Roger frowned thoughtfully. "That's not a bad idea."

"No, but the question is how, when, and where." Sam spoke up as he tuned his guitar.

"We should do a show." Kurt called from the kitchen. When the others turned and looked at him. "Isfelvic should do a show and we can get them to go with two different groups and then lure them together in the middle and keep an eye on them from there." He explained.

"A heartfelt song that makes them _feel_." Roger teased, making Mimi smack his arm.

Alex looked around and got nods from Sam and Gadget, clearly Mimi and Angel were okay with it. Roger nodded when he looked at him and Collins shrugged, clearly saying he was okay with it.

"Let's do it then."

Mimi raised a hand and Alex laughed. "Who is gunna be in what group and for who. Will Mark be there?"

"It depends on when he has off work." Mark had been pulling overtime to make some extra cash.

Mimi nodded, settling back down beside her boyfriend.

"Let's see…there are eight of us so four to a group." Alex frowned in thought. "Mimi, Collins, Roger, Sam…you invite Maureen. The rest of us will take Joanne there. Once we get there we'll have to leave so we can start the show. Move to the center and make them meet there. Stay close enough so if one of them tries to leave you can stop them." He explained.

They nodded.

"Aye-aye cap'n." Collins laughed.

"We'll need flyers that there's going to be a show soon." Gadget sipped his drink.

Mimi jumped up at that and pulled Angel with her. "We can take care of that! The show should be this weekend! I mean who works on Saturday?"

Sam and Gadget nodded. "I'm down." Sam grinned.

Mimi clapped and pulled Angel with her, they spoke excitedly to each other in Spanish. Alex wished for a half second he could understand what they were saying. But he brushed it off.

Alex frowned again when he thought of Maureen. She was staying with a friend from school. They hadn't spoken since the party. And he felt guiltier than he would have liked to.


	6. AN

**I can't see myself finishing this story because I no longer have the flame for it. But given a few days to weeks I may change my mind. I know this fic doesn't have a lot of readers so this might not even be seen. But I will try and finish this story with at least 3 more chapters, it's honestly all I can do for this story.**


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